


The One I Love

by ameliasfanfics



Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Acceptance, Attempt at humour, Bar West, Coming Out, Embarrased Aaron, Falling In Love, Family Dinner, Fluff, Humour, Insecurity, Love, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, PDA, Woolpack, cuteness, hand holding, happiness, light hearted, not explicit, public kiss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-21
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 11:12:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7265830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameliasfanfics/pseuds/ameliasfanfics
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron and Robert's love story re-written from when they first met. Chrissie/Lawrence/Lachlan never existed and Robert is open(ish) to dating men. This fic is going to be ongoing with many different stories about their relationship. In chapter one, Aaron chats to Robert on the road-side and asks him on a date to Bar West! Based on their conversation from December 3rd 2014.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's Alright

03/12/16

It was around three o’ clock in the afternoon when Aaron came tumbling out of the pub. He’d caught Robert driving past in his white Audi and had wanted to catch him; apologise, if anything, for crashing the Sugden’s reunion dinner – at least that’s what Victoria had called it. He was strangely intrigued by Robert and yet, he couldn’t quite fathom why. He liked women, right? Hadn’t Robert and Andy fell out over a woman, over Katie? But that was years ago. Aaron certainly wouldn’t like people to judge him based on his past misdemeanours. He decided to go with the casual approach. You know, give Robert the “I couldn’t care less” sort of vibe. He was annoyed at himself for caring so much. Why did he care so much? 

Aaron stood in front of Robert’s slowing car and Robert looked at him inquisitively as he rolled down the window, raising his eyebrows as if to say, “What do you want?” He casually looked Aaron up and down, not wanting to appear obvious. He liked the look of the younger man. He was… attractive? Um yes attractive. Intriguing, he thought to himself. Yes, intriguing too. It was only recently that Robert had allowed himself to feel attracted to men. In the past, he had always pushed his thoughts, his feelings into the back of his memory - into the back of the closet. And even though he had now accepted his bisexuality himself, he hadn’t gone as far as telling anyone. If he ever met a MAN, who he planned to be with, then he would tell people. At present he was okay with the world knowing he liked just women- which was true. But not JUST women… 

“Sorry for crashing your dinner.” Aaron said apologetically, fully aware this was just an excuse to talk to the older man.

“It wasn’t exactly going well before you arrived.” sighed Robert, with an exasperated look on his face. Aaron smiled, acknowledging Robert’s family issues. 

“I always wanted a brother until I met you two.” Aaron replied truthfully and Robert smirked. He felt the same way. He didn’t say this though. Things were getting awkward so Aaron thought he’d best break the ice.

“Listen, errm, I’m going to go into town later for a beer.”

“Yeah?”

“Join me if you want?”

Robert was shocked. Was Aaron asking him out on a date? Surely he wasn’t gay. How did Aaron know that he was liked men anyway? He shook his head, putting the thought to the back of his head. What did it matter anyway? For all his worrying Aaron could JUST be asking him out for a drink. You know… as MATES. Why did he have to complicate things? It might be good to make some new friends in the village. After all, nine years is a long time to leave a place. Things change, Robert told himself. People change… he knew that all too well. 

“Sure.” Robert replied, casually. He smiled to himself. That was smooth. “What time?”

“Nine-ish? Bar West in Hotten?” Aaron replied. He wondered if Robert knew that Bar West was a gay bar. Does Robert even like men? Was he wasting his time? Probably. But worth a shot, eh?

The two men smiled at each other acknowledging the plans that they had made. 

“See you then, then.” replied Robert. Bar West? He’d never heard of it. He’d just Google it, he thought to himself. Good ol’ Google. He wasn’t going to embarrass himself by asking Aaron for directions. 

“Yeah.” replied Aaron. “Well..errm…I best be off. Back to t’garage to work. See you later, Robert.” And with that he turned away from the car, walking back to the Woolpack. 

Robert watched the younger man walk away. “Robert.” he said aloud, replaying the way Aaron said his name in his head. He said it with such delicacy, such poise, considering he was a back street mechanic. He could certainly get used to it, that’s for sure! He rolled up his car window, and turned on the engine. Their “date” was going to play on Roberts mind for the rest of the day.

Roll on nine o’ clock…


	2. Are You Mine?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron and Robert meet up at Bar West and the pair discuss their past. Robert reveals a long keep secret to Aaron, hoping he will accept him for who he is. Is there a future for the pair?

03/12/14

Aaron looked at the time on his mobile impatiently. It read 21:27. Where on earth was Robert? He presumed that Robert had realised Bar West was a gay bar and scarpered. Or perhaps he wasn’t interested after all…

And yet there was just something, a tiny little voice in the back of his mind, which told Aaron that Robert WAS going to turn up, eventually anyway. He couldn’t have read the signals wrong, surely? Aaron knew when a bloke liked him, and he was sure he gave out signals that he liked Robert. He was also pretty sure that Robert got the message. Aaron needed to trust his instincts. 

The brunette went to the bar and ordered another larger, smiling to acknowledge the barman. He took a sip, the foamy white froth gathering on his upper lip. Eh, five more minutes couldn’t hurt. He went and sat back down.

Five minutes passed. No sign of Robert.

Ten minutes passed. Still, no sign of Robert.

Aaron was beginning to give up hope.

But then, at around quarter to ten, Aaron finally saw Robert entering, his eyes cautiously scoping the bar. He was clearly looking for Aaron. The two eventually made eye contact and Robert found himself walking over to where Aaron was seated. He smiled nervously at Aaron, hoping he wouldn’t be annoyed that he was forty five minutes late. I mean there is fashionably late and ridiculously late, Robert was definitely the latter. 

“Hi.” said Aaron, slightly arching his brows as if to portray his annoyance, though he wasn’t really annoyed.

“Hi.” replied Robert. “Sorry i’m late, mate.”

“You’re alright. To be honest I didn’t think you were coming. Thought you’d scarped ‘cause of this place. ‘Cause I’m...you know.” 

Robert smiled, relieved Aaron wasn’t holding a grudge. “Sorry, mate, I was running late and then I couldn’t find the damn place. Errm… and well I kind of guessed you might have been. But, I mean, I’ve never been to a gay bar before.” He almost choked on his words – an obvious lie. 

“Right.” replied Aaron. “Never been to a gay bar, eh?” he scoffed. Yeah right, Robert. “Fancy a drink?”

“Errm.. yeah…go on then. I’ll have a larger.”

“Good choice.” said Aaron, as the two walked over to the bar. He was slightly annoyed though, so does Robert like men or what? These mixed signals were confusing. He should just ask, right?

As they approached the bar, the pair ordered their drinks and Aaron decided to just decided to come out with it…

“Mate, are you gay?” he asked bluntly. 

Robert spluttered. “Not one to mince your words are you. Well, no, I’m not gay…”

Aaron frowned. Why was Robert messing him about, then?

“I’m… bisexual.” He kept his eyes on the bar, concerning himself with the beer mat which has suddenly become extremely intriguing. He’d never said that out loud before. It sounded rather refreshing…

There was a silence for a couple of seconds and then eventually Robert lifted his eyes to meet with Aaron’s. Aaron was grinning.   
“What?” asked Robert, defensively. “You got a problem with that?”

“No.” replied Aaron, not giving anything away. “Just find it…amusing…how much it frightens you to say that. I was you once upon a time, you know. Well… not bisexual.” The pair laughed simultaneously as the tense atmosphere subsided. 

Aaron could still see that Robert look extremely nervous. “Mate, look, I’m fine with it.” 

Robert breathed a sigh of relief. “Really?”

“Yeah, really.” Aaron smiled softly. Robert smiled back. He found the younger man undeniably attractive. 

“So…” coughed Robert, “Shall we take these and sit down?” he said, signalling with his head towards their drinks. He’d definitely prefer a change in conversation topic. 

“No.” replied Aaron, “Let’s just stay at the bar, eh? Anyway, I have been meaning to ask you why you decided to come back here…to Emmerdale. Why now?”

“Nowhere else to go,” sighed Robert, “’cause my family is here, you know, Victoria, Diane… even Andy. I guess you I could say I missed them. When my last contract came to an end… my girlfriend soon after dumping me…bitch…there was nothing for me to stick around for. I needed a fresh start.”

“What, so you thought you’d come back and make amends?”

“Something like that.” Robert smiled delicately at Aaron. He had expected Aaron to judge him for what he had done, for the mistakes he had made – but he didn’t. He just listened, and Robert liked that. “It’s different here…now my dad’s gone. Emmerdale is safer without him here.”

“Seemed harmless enough to me.” stated Aaron, slightly confused. Jack Sugden? Not that he knew much about him, but nothing notable sprung to mind. He thought for a second and then suddenly realised. “Oh, you mean because of…you know.”

“Yeah.” replied Robert. Aaron could see the sadness in his eyes. Robert was what? Nearly thirty, and here he was, still in the closet. That’s a long time to keep a secret – a long time to never share your feelings. Aaron couldn’t bear hiding his sexuality from his family. He understood Robert. He understood how Robert was probably conflicted with staying in the closet or coming out – both were going to be difficult. However, he secretly hoped he’d choose the latter.

“Look, Robert. It’s really not as bad as you think it will be. I know Diane and Victoria, and they’d be made up.” Robert frowned. “I mean…not made up but like...happy for you. They won’t judge you.”

“Cheers.” said Robert, still not convinced. Why was Aaron trying to push him into coming out? He’d only just met the bloke – why would he care? But he WAS grateful for Aaron’s…guidance…I guess you could say. It was nice not to be judged. Aaron’s a neat bloke - a VERY neat bloke. He liked him, very much so. “Look, thank you. It means a lot that you’d help me after everything you must have heard. Hey, you know what? Enough about me – let’s talk about you.”

“Not much to say, mate.” There was plenty to say, but Aaron was playing hard to get.

“Got any boyfriends milling about?”

“No.” put Aaron sharply, teasingly. “Why, you offering to fill that position?” 

“Maybe.” smirked Robert. “Why, would you be interested?”

“Maybe.” Aaron was staying cool, staying casual. He looked up at Robert, curling the corners of his mouth into a, somewhat, smile. He bit his lip seductively, hoping Robert would notice. Robert noticed.

“Look, mate, I best be off. Diane’ll be wondering where I got to and I’m driving so… But… ermm… we should do this again.” 

“Yeah .” replied Aaron. “Yeah, we should.”

The two men stood up at the bar. Aaron gave a nod goodbye to the barman and Robert grabbed his leather jacket, placing it over his shoulders. This did not go unnoticed to Aaron. He glanced over Robert’s slim figure. He looked good. Leather suited him.   
“Bye.” said Robert. 

“Bye.”

And then, ever so carefully, Robert did something much unexpected. He leaned towards Aaron and, ever so gently, gave him a soft kiss on the lips, of which Aaron reciprocated. 

As, he pulled away, Robert blushed. The kiss was unexpected – even though he had initiated it. It was unlike any first kiss he had had before - tender and gentle. It was better. It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed another man before - but this one just felt so much better. It felt special. “Thanks for today.” he said, looking deeply into Aaron’s deep blue eyes. “I mean it.”

“Don’t be soft.” Aaron replied, but he was blushing. Does this mean that Robert was open to a relationship with him? “I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah, see you around.”

And with that, the two men went their separate ways…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Chapter 2 is up! Did you like it? If you did please leave me a comment down below as I worked really hard on this chapter. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Chapter title based on the song "R U Mine?" by the Arctic Monkeys.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This was my first EVER fan fiction so I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me your comments down below and perhaps suggest some possible scenarios you would like me to write about. So glad I finally got an invite to AO3 ;)
> 
> Chapter title: "It's Alright" inspired by the song from S Club 7


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